After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Manager Xie also knew about the fire at Manager Liu's house.

Those who aren't in business might assume that all business people are adversaries, but that's not the case. On the surface, they may appear hostile, even giving each other the side-eye in broad daylight, fearing the other will steal their business. Privately, however, they're quite close. It's always one person treating the other to drinks or meals; they'll do profitable business together and share the risks. The Xie family, in particular, is considered the backbone of all the businessmen in Ganzhou City.

On the night the Liu family's house burned down, Manager Liu came to see Manager Xie, stammering as he met him. Manager Xie didn't think much of it, assuming he was having cash flow problems due to the simultaneous burning of his house and shop, and had his clerk fetch him a thousand taels of silver. Manager Liu repeatedly declined, glancing away from time to time. Manager Xie, still thinking he was embarrassed, insisted on stuffing the thousand taels of silver into his hands.

Lu Yun asked, "Did Manager Liu really not say anything?"

Manager Xie thought about it carefully: "He told me to stock up on less charcoal this year, saying that business isn't very good."

At this point, Manager Xie finally realized what was going on and slapped his thigh hard.

"Look at my pig brain! I didn't even understand what he meant. I thought he was so heartbroken and confused because his house and shop burned down. You two gentlemen don't know this, but Ganzhou is different from the capital. When it doesn't snow, the climate is dry and cold. Once it snows, it's damp and cold, and the cold can seep into your bones. To get through the winter safely, dry grass, firewood, and charcoal are essential. Wealthy families keep hundreds or even thousands of pounds of charcoal on hand, not only for heating but also for warming wine and cooking. Ordinary families also need to keep dozens of pounds on hand for the coldest times."

Manager Xie rubbed his hands together and ordered someone to bring the account book.

"Ganzhou's charcoal is divided into three types, the best and the worst of which are both in our Xie family's shops. The best charcoal is used to make money, and the worst charcoal is used to support the people, that is, for those who cannot afford to buy or use charcoal on ordinary days. Other shops sell medium-grade charcoal. There is no conflict of interest between the shops, and at least for the past twenty years, a certain balance has been reached."

Lu Yun didn't know how to read the ledgers; it was Han Ting who was reading them.

On paper, the Xie family's charcoal shops were not profitable; in fact, they had been losing money year after year. Manager Xie bluntly stated that the Xie family's charcoal shops were losing money, not only in Ganzhou but also in Yinzhou and Yanzhou.

The head manager, who was also Lu Zhiyuan's maternal uncle, made it very clear when he opened these shops that he didn't expect them to add to the Xie family's wealth. He only hoped that the people of Ganzhou, Yinzhou, and Yanzhou could get through the winter safely and no longer freeze to death. Unlike other shops, the managers of these charcoal shops in the three prefectures were all members of the Xie family. All the account books were kept in the shop, with one copy kept in the shop and the other sent to the Xie family in the capital.

To put it bluntly, the head manager wouldn't allow any embezzlement or misappropriation of funds within the shop.

Charcoal isn't sold only in winter; it's available year-round, just in larger quantities during winter. His shop, for example, typically stockpiles large quantities before winter, storing several thousand kilograms of high-quality charcoal and tens of thousands of kilograms of lower-grade. Besides the city's residents, the Xie family also supplies charcoal to the prefecture and military camps. The accounts are separate and must be reported to the imperial court. The supply to the prefecture yields a slight profit, while the supply to the military breaks even, all for the sake of Beiliang.

The charcoal from the prefecture was delivered to all prefectures before winter, and no abnormalities have been found so far. The same goes for the military camps; the supplies were just completed a few days ago, and there has been no change in the amount procured.

Han Ting rubbed his temples: "Was the charcoal delivered from the warehouse?"

Manager Xie waved his hand: "How could that be? The Xie family's warehouse is only so big, and the amount of charcoal it can store is limited. It's impossible for it to be all sent out from the warehouse. Although charcoal is not as precious as gold, silver, or jade, the storage conditions are very demanding."

Lu Yun scratched his head: "Just tell me where those charcoal pieces came from?"

Manager Xie looked at Lu Yun as if he were an idiot: "Of course, they were transported directly from the source."

Han Ting pondered: "Most of the charcoal in Beiliang comes from Jiang County. It takes three to four months to get from Jiang County to Ganzhou."

Shopkeeper Xie chuckled: "Young Master Han is right. It will take three to four months, and that's assuming the weather is fine, the horses are unharmed, and there are no problems on the road. At most, it can take up to six months. The charcoal is sold in winter, and the firewood is cut in spring, burned in summer, and transported in autumn."

Han Ting leaned forward: "What if something goes wrong during the transport..."

Manager Xie said, "Others might be able to, but our Xie family is absolutely not! Young Master Han probably doesn't know how big our Xie family's business is. From Jiang County to Ganzhou, everything we eat, use, wear, and wear, including grain, horses, and warehouses for storing goods, all belong to the Xie family. I dare not say anything else, but in the more than ten years I have been the manager of this charcoal shop, the charcoal sold by the Xie family to the prefecture, the military camp, and the people has never had a problem."

Han Ting flicked the ledger in his hand: "That was before! In my experience, the larger the business, the easier it is for spies to sneak in. Manager Xie, do you know about termites?"

"Termites? White ants?" Manager Xie shook his head. "Forgive my ignorance, but I've never seen white ants before. The ants in Ganzhou are all blackish-red, huge, and their bites are incredibly painful. Young Master Han mentioned termites, are they related to charcoal?"

"Termites will gnaw through the wooden house until it collapses, but it is very difficult to find traces of termites before the house collapses. Even if you do find them, you will not think that the house is going to collapse."

Shopkeeper Xie tentatively asked, "Does Young Master Han mean there are termites in these shops along the way? Oh, no, I mean there are people with ulterior motives who want to harm the Xie family."

Han Ting stood up: "Whether it's been investigated or not, we'll know! The winds blowing in Ganzhou are suspicious; there might be some conspiracy behind it. Miss is in Ganzhou, and we can't afford to make any mistakes."

Upon hearing the word "Miss," Manager Xie immediately tensed up.

Not just the young lady, but the son-in-law too!

Everyone knows that the Xie family's son-in-law is the Crown Prince of Beiliang, the future emperor. With both the young lady and her husband in Ganzhou, if anything were to happen to them, their entire family would be in serious trouble.

The Xie family had excellent relations with the prefectural government and the military camp, so finding a reason to inspect the charcoal wouldn't be a problem. But how could they tell if there was anything wrong with the charcoal just by looking? It wasn't just one or two pieces, or ten or eight pounds; it was thousands of pounds. They couldn't possibly inspect and burn each one individually, could they?

There is some stock in the warehouse, which can be exchanged for some charcoal, but the Xie family's reputation and the city of Ganzhou are likely to be in turmoil.

Han Ting had no better ideas and planned to go back to discuss it with Lu Zhiyuan. He instructed the manager to make arrangements with the prefectural government and the military camp first, and they would proceed with the next step after he and Lu Zhiyuan had reached an agreement.

Lu Yun couldn't be idle either; Han Ting arranged for him to go find Manager Liu. He didn't believe those people would keep watching the Liu family. The address was given by Manager Xie: the Liu family's old residence, about thirty miles from Ganzhou City.